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31 January, 2013

It's been a long time coming but here is the final swatch from Lime Crime's Les Desserts d'Antoinette collection!

Milky Ways is one of those perfectly named shades - this isn't a stark white but rather a lovely milky vanilla. I look at it and think of vanilla shakes and ice cream. Damn shame it wasn't vanilla scented too! This polish is probably the diva of the collection in terms of application because it was still quite patchy and balding in places after two coats. I've cheated here and only covered the bald areas with a third coat of polish but I would definitely recommend three full coats for evenly opaque coverage. I had previously read in other posts this shade is more prone to chipping so I put it to the test by reinforcing it with a good base coat and top coat and it did last the working week (Monday to Friday) for me with only a few chips by week's end.

29 January, 2013

My dear Father-in-Law always says, "Blue and green should never be seen..." but I have to disagree. I've always felt they complimented each other, especially seeing they are so close on the colour spectrum.

It was with this in mind I added a coat of Ulta3's green glitter topcoat Luck of the Irish over my base of BYS Alaskan Blue. Because these polish shades are actually pretty close in intensity (and Alaskan Blue is a greenish blue!) the effect wasn't as dramatic as I'd hoped but the green glitter succeeded in added a little extra texture to the manicure - I really want to wear Luck of the Irish again over a very dark creme base to bring out its full effect. A take 2 of this polish is definitely on the cards!

27 January, 2013

The content for this post has been sitting in my camera (and my head) since before Christmas! Late last year I wanted to do something to get out of my beauty rut so I challenged myself to either: (a) try one new beauty item or (b) show one neglected beauty item some love every day for seven days. It's my version of that popular 'shop my stash' idea but compressed into a single week. Behold, the seven beauty products below and now for a mini review - I'm kind of pleased I did this now because most of these items have made their way into regular rotation...

MAC Cremesheen lipstick (Peach Blossom) - This soft, slightly shimmery shade of nude lipstick was released a few months ago in MAC's Cremesheen and Pearl collection. I had puffed myself into an almighty obsession to buy Pure Zen from that collection but THEN I tried Peach Blossom when I finally got to the MAC counter. It was pure love at first swatch and when the SA applied it to my lips I knew that THIS was it! So what the H*** happened?? I got it home, put it away and forgot about it after the initial high, which is a terrible beauty crime I'm guilty of. Good excuse to take this out of storage and wear it to remind myself, right? Now that I've worn it again it's become my pink nude lipstick of choice. It's a very soft flush of pink/peach/nude and a particularly flattering and youthful shade for me - and because it's so neutral it goes with everything!

Mirenesse Tight Liner Hydra Gel Eye Liner (Caviar Black) - I received this gel liner pen as a gift and after it sitting in the drawer for months (again) I decided to overcome my fear of fine liners and take the plunge. The felt tip pen is much easier to use than a fine brush (fine brushes and I just don't get along these days cos they're just too dang fiddly and I'm just too dang nervous) and the sharp black line itself would not budge for the entire day until I chose to remove it. There was no smudging, no bleeding and no dreaded transfer to my upper lid. I don't go for the retro black eyeliner look all that often but when I do I know I can use this pen with confidence.

Rimmel 100% Waterproof Mascara (Black) - This is now my chosen waterproof mascara - yet again it had been sitting around for months beforehand! It's a budget product which ticked all the boxes for me: 100% waterproof was not an exaggeration cos it stayed put even when I'd spent hours in the pool on holiday; the brush is soft and tapered to easily get into the lashes; the formula is quite creamy without clumping; it thickened my lashes beautifully; and they were soft and not at all crunchy to the touch.

MAC Veluxe Pearl Eye Shadow (Sumptuous Olive) - For some reason this gorgeous antique gold shade got buried in my makeup case, so once I spotted it I knew we had to get reacquainted! This shade can do a smokey eye or add some glamorous oomph to an otherwise neutral eye. After a bit of experimenting I find it works better for me as a crease shade rather than an all over lid shade but with a good inner lid highlight I can still get away with it all over my lids for an evening eye. I'll continue to use this as an alternative to brown when I want to do a warmer, slightly shimmery eye shadow look.

Smashbox Blush Rush (Chiffon) - This blush pan is another reacquaintance from my makeup case! I do love this peach/pink for spring and summer so it was just a matter of dragging out from the deepest, darkest depths of my makeup stash. It has the teeniest bit of sparkle in the pan but this isn't really visible on my skin so I don't have to worry about sparkly cheeks! Because of my fair colouring I find a light swish of Chiffon gives me all the flush I need and it stays put for the day. Very pretty, and I don't know why I'd neglected it when I'd loved it so much in the first place.

Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau de Parfum (1.5ml sample) - After finally trying it I'm now rationing this sample because it's wonderfully seductive and I can't afford to buy a full bottle. This deeply exotic fragrance contains notes of: bergamot, citrus, mandarin, black gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lotus wood, black orchid, patchouli, sandalwood, incense and vanilla. Sound like a sexy concoction? Well, yes it is although it can be quite heavy and overpowering if not applied with restraint. That's fine with me - I'll just use the teensiest bit!

Vaseline Total Moisture Aloe Fresh Daily Light Lotion (SPF 15) - This was the only lukewarm product I encountered in my seven day experiment. I always like the idea of SPF products and idea of moisturising and protecting my limbs at the same time sounded doubly appealing. The thick white lotion has a lovely refreshing aloe scent but, OMG, it took literally minutes to get that white streakiness to disappear and absorb! I'll use this on the weekends but I'm way too impatient to be using it during my early morning rush from Monday to Friday...

The swatches from left to right:
Caviar Black, Sumptuous Olive, Chiffon, Peach Blossom

22 January, 2013

*Sigh*. This is the last of my vacation manis - but I think it's a good one!

Alaskan Blue caught my eye when I spied it in the almighty wall of BYS polish at Cosmetics Plus and it completely wowed me when I wore it cos: I love blues, greens, metallics, foils and this shade has it all! Alaskan Blue sounds like a cold name but I thought it was a wonderful summery aquatic polish, and I'd describe the colour as aquamarine blue. Two coats applied neatly and easily and the result was eye-catching and very photogenic. See what you think...

20 January, 2013

I haven't worn Mavala nail polish in years - namely because this Swiss brand just so hard to find around here! I have fond memories of wearing the most beautiful burgundy polish from Mavala, called I think Tobago, and I used that little bottle up because it was simply the best burgundy polish I had in my collection back then...

Fast forward to my recent vacation and I spotted a Mavala stand at a local pharmacy. The colours weren't standouts but there were a few beachy shades I was able to pick out. I chose Nice because I can never (ever, everrr!) get enough of coral in summer and this shade isn't a straight glossy creme but has the teensiest bit of shimmer to it - I did struggle to get it to show up in my pictures but trust me it's there! Anyway, application was smooth as silk, the dry time was fast and it managed to stay chip free for three days. Not bad considering I was swimming every day!

Sun

Shade

What nail colour do you think is synonymous with summer for your nails?

18 January, 2013

Finallyyyyyyy!!!! My last empties for last year! I'm going to try and keep it brief -

Skin care

128) L'Occitane Cleansing Refreshing Cloth with Shea Extract (Sample)

I don't have much to say about this because the sample pack contained only a single wipe. It did cleanse my skin gently without any tightness but there was nothing remarkable about it other than me knowing it contains shea extract. I can't find any further information on these on the L'Occitane website so I don't have any idea how they would compare to other products in terms of price, and further research suggests these may only be available as hotel amenities rather than for general retail.

129) Neutrogena Oil-free Eye Makeup Remover (112 ml)

I bought a bottle to try after seeing it on lovelyLarie's blog because it's another one of those dual-action makeup remover formulas that I'm so addicted to. It was just as effective as my usual Maybelline remover, taking off waterproof mascara easily and without any tears - what I didn't like is the open necked bottle, and yes clumsy me did manage to spill it once. Good product, minus the non spill-proof packaging.

130) Nivea Soothing Cleansing Mousse for Dry & Sensitive Skin (150ml)

I totally enjoyed using this soft mousse cleanser and my skin felt moisturised after rinsing it off in my morning shower. If I had to fault it in any way I'd say it wasn't travel-friendly but honestly, I just loved it! See a more detailed review here.

131)Bloom off, off and away cleansing wipes (24 wipes)

This was my second pack simply because of they were a bargain at 3 bucks but I wouldn't buy these at full price. My full review is in my November post here.

Hand and body care

131) Puretopia Glowingly Smooth Body Polish (200ml/6.8 fl.oz.)

This was like exfoliating with scented river sand! It did an average job of exfoliating my skin and made a heck of a mess in my shower - granules everywhere! Buy this again? No.

132) OPI Original Polish Remover ( 120ml/4fl.oz) - I guzzled my way through 11 bottles of this brand of remover in 2012!

134) Revlon Wet/Dry Shadow Quad (Tickled Pink LE) - This vintage Revlon quad comprised four shimmery highlight shades so I used it every other day. Not surprisingly, it's gone!

135) Revlon Lip Butter (Peach Parfait) - I got caught up in the lip butter hype and bought a few of these. Peach Parfait was my favourite because of its soft pink/peach shade and yep, I literally wore through it like butter too, actually disconcertingly fast for a lip product so I don't think these tubes are great value for money because they wear down so fast. The fuss about these has since been overtaken by Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains - and they ARE worth the hype in my opinion.

136) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick (Pinkerbelle) - I was sad to see this pretty blue-toned pink lipstick go because it was another LE.

And that's it for the year - somehow I used up 137 products compared to 2011's total of 96 and well exceeded my goal of 100 empties. To satisfy my own curiosity mainly, here's the detailed breakdown by category (includes sample sizes):Skin care:

15 January, 2013

Hi! Here's another nail post as I ease my way back into my blogging routine - the NEXT post will be my long overdue final empties post for 2012 - yes finally!

Today's featured mani was what I wore to dinner for NYE. My outfit comprised a dark royal purple top with a black tube skirt so some kind of purple themed mani seemed a logical fit for me! I chose Beaming Violet from Australian beauty brand Natio as my dominant purple shade with a kick of silver glitter on my ring fingers courtesy of another Australian polish: Influential Miss from Mode Cosmetics.

Beaming Violet is a medium violet creme and it applied glassily smooth, with an almost jelly consistency - I loooved how this performed! I keep forgetting *kick* how great quality Natio polishes are as I usually focus my attention on their botanical skin care products - these polishes seriously are great quality as they apply smoothly, wear for quite a few days without any chips and - always worth noting - they are manufactured locally. I know that Natio have expanded their range of polishes and they now have a rainbow of creme shades available in their cute 9ml bottles.

Miss Influential is a uniformly fine silver glitter polish - I applied three coats to get quite an opaque coverage on my ring fingers. Just enough bling for NYE!

12 January, 2013

Well...hello there and welcome to my first, belated post for 2013!!! It's been so long I'm not sure I remember how to communicate coherently - just hit the keys and go, right?!

I was itching to get this post up while I was still on vacation because it features lots of new bright and glittery polish but alas the lack of decent WiFi got in the way - and in the meantime I've accumulated even more! I'm just going to let the pictures do most of the talking in this first vacation nail polish haul post and - yep - stand by for Part 2...